Really: Could Lakes Hold All the Chickens in the World?

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After our most recent weekly Twitter poll many have been debating whether or not Lakes could actually hold all the chickens in the world. (That is, could we fit all the chickens in the world in our building?)

To settle the debate, let’s figure it out:

According to the United Nations, there are approximately 19 billion chickens that make up the species overall combined population on the planet collectively.

Photo Courtesy of Meme Generator

Next we need to discover the average amount of space a chicken takes up. According to a farm in California, Kendal Hills Game Farm, the volume of a chicken is ½ a cubic foot. (12 inches x 6 inches x 6 inches)

If we take the number of chickens in the world and multiply it by their volume of space they occupy:

19,000,000,000 chickens × 0.5 cubic feet = 9,500,000,000 cubic feet

So, if the chickens were all standing next to and on top of each other they would occupy 9,500,000,000 cubic feet. So let’s say they can be stacked on top of each other in the school to better make use of all the volume in the school.

If the chickens were in a perfect square of 1 mile wide by 1 mile long (1 mile = 5,280 feet) then the “block” of chickens would be 340 feet high.

9,500,000,000 / 5,280 / 5,280 = approximately 340 feet tall

Without even taking the school’s layout or floor plans into account, we can already conclude that the dimensions of 1 mile wide x 1 mile long x 340 feet tall are unrealistic to the schools dimensions. (Meaning, Lakes could not hold the number of chickens in the world).

So, unfortunately, we can’t claim that Lakes is home to the entire world’s chicken population.

But hey, maybe we can try something a little smaller next time. Goldfish, perhaps?